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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. ground — a position
  3. fall — to drop
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — crushed
  8. march — the month
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. squash — to crush
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — the season
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — the sport
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com